The Amazing Learning Blog

A' Level Results Day

2009-08-20T08:49:00.003+01:00

We'd like to congratulate all of our Amazing Grades users receiving their A' Level results today. Well done! It's another year of increasing success for the nation's students and we hope that Amazing Grades has been part of your achievement this year.

Many of you will be considering taking a Gap Year. Did you know amazing-grades.com has an excellent 'Gap Year Guide'with information ranging from travel guides, planning your trip, volunteering whilst abroad and learning whilst you're away.

Our 'What Next?' section includes careers advice links as well as some information about clearing. As always there are tonnes of useful resources to supplement the excellent work the BBC does around results time.

So again, well done and good luck with whatever next steps you take!

The Amazing Grades Team

New Amazing Learning site now live

2008-07-23T17:09:00.004+01:00

Check out the new Amazing Learning web site, it's just gone live this afternoon.

With a sleeker look and feel, you’ll find up-to-date information on our current tools and applications and it’s even easier to buy our products online.

Enjoy!

Views on Amazing Learning

2008-06-20T14:26:00.001+01:00

Here at Amazing Learning we like to road test our products as well as future employees. What better way than to give opportunities to young people keen to gain some work experience and find out a little more about Amazing? Recently a very bright intern worked with us for two weeks. Ashley was stunningly productive and insightful and many of the things we're now working on come from Ashley's work and comments from his peers and other Amazing Grades users.

We asked Ashley to distil his thoughts in a blog post so here it is...

Hi,

My name is Ash and I spent 2 weeks on my work experience at the Amazing Group from Cramlington Community High School. I thought id write a blog entry to tell you what its like at Amazing Learning and my comments on the products.

I started my placement with Amazing Learning on the 12th June 2008. I had no idea who I was going to be working with when I arrived at the Amazing Group, but I was then introduced to the Amazing Learning team, these guys were extremely welcoming and within the first 10 minutes I felt comfortable in the surroundings. I was taken on a tour of the building by Kevin and he introduced me to a number of other people in different departments. After that first stage it was straight back down to the floor I would be based for this first week, prior to my arrival my own desk and equipment had been set up for me to use with my own accounts and everything I needed. I have to say I was soon put to work, with only sitting down for about 5 minutes I had received an email from Kevin with logins to the Amazing Learning products and to go with that, a list of tasks he wanted me to do in that day.

Throughout the week I spent with Amazing Learning, I didn’t once feel insecure, left out or bored. The people also in the office were always very helpful and friendly, regularly they would ask me if I was getting on okay, if I needed help with anything or they would just engage in a conversation with me. The way to staff reacted to working with a 15 year old for a week really surprised me, I thought they wouldn’t bother with me and just set me off with work – but like I said it was the total opposite! The atmosphere at Amazing Learning is great and I loved it!

Anyway, for the first few days I was given my own login accounts for a number of the products Amazing Learning does and was asked to evaluate and review each one, so I thought it might be useful to include a summary of each product in this blog…

Amazing Grades
This is an educational resource website for both teachers and students. It holds online resources for revision from every subject in the national curriculum and is spread across nearly all exam boards. I found the site quite easy to use and I found the subjects I wished to study for rather quickly, but if I couldn’t find anything I could simply type it into a clear search function located at the top of the site. I would definitely consider subscribing to this product of Amazing Learning if I needed to revise and didn’t want to scrawl through my books, Grades makes revising A LOT more efficient, quicker and stress free as most the resources have some sort of “fun element” to them.

Enterprise Conkers
One of the subjects I am currently studying is Business. I have to say I am confident with most parts of the course that I have covered so far, however when I entered this product and looked through it – it made me recap some of the things I weren’t quite sure about and sure enough, I now know what I need to about those topics…thanks to Enterprise Conkers! Although this isn’t entirely a business focused product, it focuses on helping 'bring out the entrepreneur' in young people. It does this by proving a number of tools such as creating a Business Plan and CV’s. Along with these tools there is one main task which is an enterprise course. This 12 module course has information on all aspects of being and becoming and entrepreneur, also including hints and tips, questions and end of module quizzes. In the future if I need to revisit anything about some business aspects, I will certainly visit Enterprise Unwrapped to guide me with it and I recommend it to anybody who is interested in Enterprise as it is very useful.

At first I wasn’t sure what I was going to get out of working at Amazing Learning but it turned out that I managed to learn and pick up a number of things. I massively improved my evaluating and reviewing skills as I did a number of these, I improved my communication skills as I was working with different people on different floors, I also improved my knowledge of ICT in general and also found out that working in an office isn’t as tedious as I used to think! I found the week a great learning experience and will remember it for some time.

Saint George's Day

2008-04-22T14:38:00.018+01:00

This Wednesday is St George's Day. It is England's national day but for most people in the country St George's Day is just another ordinary day: only one in five people living in England know that it falls on April 23rd.

Who was St George?

St. George is the patron saint of England but actually he wasn't English at all. He was born in Turkey around 280, and became renowed for his bravery while serving in the Roman army during the reign of the pagan emperor Diocletian. After converting to Christianity, George left the military to campaign against Rome’s persecution of Christians, but he was imprisoned and tortured in an effort to make him renounce his faith. He stayed true to his beliefs and was eventually beheaded in Palestine, on 23 April, 303.

Saint George and the Dragon

One of the best-known legends about Saint George is his fight with a dragon, dating back to the Middle Ages when the dragon was commonly used to represent evil. The town of Silene in the province of Libya was terrorised by a dragon and its inhabitants had begun to feed the dragon two sheep every day to prevent it attacking them; when the sheep failed, they began to give it one sheep and one man. The king decreed that the human sacrifice should be chosen by lot, a process that continued until the young princess was selected. When George heard about this he rode into the village, slayed the dragon and rescued the princess.

St. George's Day in England

St. George's Day is not a bank holiday and is not celebrated as much in England as other National Days are around the world. In fact, you are more likely to see St Patrick parades in England, celebrating Ireland's National Day, more than you would see any sign of St Georges Day being celebrated. However, in recent years the popularity of St. George's Day seems to be increasing progressively, with more people actively encouraging others to celebrate England, learn more about St George, and raise money for charity.

In the United Kingdom, St. George is also the patron saint of the Scouting movement. Many Scout troops take part in a St. George's Day Parade on the nearest Sunday to April 23.

Fancy taking part in this day of national celebration? Have a look at www.celebratestgeorgesday.com for some ideas on how you can get involved. If you are interested in learning more about St George and his legend, visit these sites:

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/stgeorge.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/saints/george_1.shtml

Safe Searching

2008-04-14T11:43:00.004+01:00

The Byron Review on e-safety, published recently, focussed many teachers' and parents' attention on child safety online, detailing the risks and dangers children face when exposed to potentially harmful material through the internet.

The report recommends that search engines such as Google and Yahoo display a “safe search” button prominently on their home page, to filter out adverse content when children search the web. You can check out the report at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/byronreview/

We have always taken safe searching seriously and we welcome the findings of the Byron review. amazing grades has its own form of 'safe search'. Every single resource from which our search engine chooses has been hand-picked by a teacher or subject specialist.

We provide links to over 20,000 academic resources that have been vetted and reviewed by our team of teachers, saving time, guaranteeing accuracy and reducing the risk of exposure to harmful content. We have always taken safe searching seriously and we welcome the findings of the Byron review.

We rely on experts to pick our websites, not algorithms.

Edinburgh International Science Festival

2008-03-26T12:01:00.003Z

Hot on the heels of National Science Week It is the Edinburgh International Science Festival from 25 March to 5 April.

2008 marks the 20th anniversary of the Scotland's biggest science festival.

“Edinburgh International Science Festival is an educational charity which aims to engage all of society in the wonder and value of science and technology.“

The programme is really varied. Amongst the planned activities are: science talks, walks, workshops, exhibitions, film screenings and events taking place at venues throughout the city including the Botanics, the National Museums of Scotland and Wonderama.
The Science Festival is a fabulous place for everyone. For more information on this festival, go to http://www.sciencefestival.co.uk

You can find many science sites using amazing grades. The site has useful resources for Biology, Chemistry, Physical Education, Physics and Psychology.

Writers of the Year Competition 2008

2008-03-26T11:25:00.008Z

The eagle eyed amongst you might have noticed the following hot link on the front page of amazing-grades. The fifteenth annual Writers Inc Writers-of-the-Year Competition is open for submissions, welcoming prose and poetry in all styles, forms and subjects. There are five categories for the competition in 2008:

Short Poems;
Extended Poems and Sequences;
Short Stories;
Writing for Children;
Feature Journalism.

Entries may be on any subject and in any style. Each entry is judged in its own context, regardless of length or content, and all entries will be judged anonymously. It is an international competition with entries accepted from anywhere in the world as long as they reach the organisers before Monday 14 April 2008.

Winners will be invited to read their work or extracts from it at a special Writers Inc event at the Barbican Library in London and there is up to £3,500 in prizes to be distributed at the discretion of the judges.

You can find more information about this competition and search through the many relevant resources for writers on the amazing grades website www.amazing-grades.com

Happy Easter

2008-03-21T10:45:00.005Z

This Sunday 23 March, many of us will celebrate Easter. For Christians Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. On Good Friday, Jesus Christ was executed by crucifixion. On the following Sunday, the disciples of Jesus went to his tomb to discover it was empty. But Easter is much more than a religious celebration. Today on the blog you can learn more about this feast, its origin, its traditions...

Did you know that Easter was originally a pagan festival?
Before being a religious celebration, Easter was a pagan festival. This festival symbolized the renewal of life, the return of light. At that time, the year began at Easter.

Do you know where the name ‘Easter’ comes from?
The name Easter comes from Eostre, an ancient Anglo-Saxon goddess, originally of the dawn. In pagan times an annual spring festival was held in her honor. In many others European languages the name Easter comes from the word Passover (e.g. Pascha in Greek and Latin, Pâques in French, Pascua in Spanish).

Do you know why the date of Easter changes each year?
Easter is called a moveable feast because the date of Easter changes every year. The reason for this variation in the date of Easter is based on the lunar calendar rather than our more well-known solar one. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following the full moon that occurs on or following the spring equinox. This Sunday must be between the dates of March 22 and April 25.

Do you know why do we eat eggs at Easter?
This is an old tradition. For many cultures, the egg was an object of worship. They gave painted eggs in the spring because they were the symbol of life and rebirth.
In the IV century, the church forbade the consumption of eggs during Lent (the 40 days of fasting before Easter). All the eggs laid since the beginning of Lent were decorated and offered on Easter morning.

Do you know why the Easter Bunny is an Easter symbol?
The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention. Easter bunny was Pagan symbol of fertility. The bunny as an Easter symbol seems to have its origins in Germany. The children were building a nest that they put in the garden in the hope that the Easter rabbit put the eggs in during the night. During the 1700s, the Easter bunny was introduced to American folklore. The Easter rabbit is sometimes replaced by other messengers. In France for instance, the eggs are made by the Easter Bells back from Rome after the Holy Week.

Whether you're revising, preparing for the next term or simply enjoying the break, the amazing learning team wish you a happy Easter. Remember to check out www.amazing-grades.com for the best resources for independent study and revision.

ChangeToday Choose Fairtrade

2008-03-05T10:03:00.023Z

From 25 February to 9 March it is Fairtrade Fortnight in the United Kingdom. Fairtrade fortnight is a yearly campaign to raise awareness of Fairtrade products. The concept appeared in the United Kingdom but now Fairtrade fortnights are celebrated in countries like Ireland, Canada, Australia and France. However the dates for these events are not the same for each country (e.g. in France the event will take place in April, in Australia it will be in May). The theme of this year’s Fortnight is Change Today Choose Fairtrade.

Fairtrade is based on the idea that "everyone who works has the right to a fair remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence in line with human dignity" (Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights man).

Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. It proposes an alternative to traditional trade and aims to reduce inequalities and to restore the man his central place in the transactions. It is based on the following principles:

assure a fair remuneration for the producers and the most disadvantaged artisans, enabling them to satisfy their basic needs;
assure the respect of the fundamental rights of individuals;
establish long-term trading partnerships between economic partners;
promote the preservation of the environment;
offer consumers quality products.

There is a wide range of Fairtrade products available: from footballs to flowers; from cotton buds to cotton pants; from cinnamon sticks to vanilla ice cream; from pineapples to honey; from orange juice to wine; from brazil nuts to rice. However, the most famous Fairtrade products remain basic products like tea, coffee, chocolate and bananas.

More than 7 million people (producers, farmers, workers and their families) in 58 countries currently benefit from the international Fairtrade system.

If you want to be involved and know how your school can become a Fairtrade School visit this website: www.fairtrade.org.uk/schools You could also search on Amazing Grades

'The Conkerers' movie wins three Royal Television Socitety Awards

2008-02-25T13:32:00.031Z

It's great news for us here at amazing learning - we are all delighted that The Conkerers movie won three RTS awards at The North East & The Border Centre Royal Television Society Awards for 2007 held at The Sage, Gateshead on Saturday 23rd February 2008. The event celebrated not only the best of the region's Television and New Media over the past 12 months, but also to look back over 21 years of Awards in the region.

The Conkerers is a short film commissioned by amazing learning to promote our enterprise products (www.enterprise-kebab.com) which aim to encourage youngsters to start their own company and, through their ingenuity, become an enterprising David to challenge the corporate Goliath.

The Conkerers was up against some stiff competition from Productions like ‘Wire in the Blood’ and three of the ‘Grumpy’ guides. According to the RTS, the “entry stood out — a short drama about the centuries-old playground game of conkers. The direction was flawless; everything worked — the setting, the young cast, the script, the pace, the editing. It was highly entertaining and very clever”. The judges awarded the higher budget award in the Best Drama or Entertainment Production category to The Conkerers, directed by Steven Boyle and produced by Jon Stubbs of Dene Films.

Along with this award, Dene Films also scooped three others, including Best Promotional, and two Craft Awards for Steven Boyle ("for a portfolio that stood out above the others" including his work on The Conkerers) and Peter Groom (for his craft in sound, which included his work on The Conkerers).

To find out more and to watch the film, visit www.theconkerers-movie.com.

For more articles about the movie and enterprise, have a look at …The Conkerers Movie Released and Teaching package encourages young to be entrepreneurs.

If you are based in the North East of England, the Regional Development Agency, One NorthEast have sponsored our enterprise products (Enterprise Kebab), so your school, college or university can get the tools and activities for FREE!

Strength through unity?

2008-02-11T11:50:00.000Z

Today we welcome Frederique to our team of bloggers; she's starting by sharing her knowledge on the history and constitution of her home country, Belgium. We'll be putting this information on the Amazing Grades main site, in English and In French, for students to use as research information, or as a comprehension exercise:

Belgium is a federal state of 10 million people. This small country has three official languages. Approximately 59% of the population speaks Dutch, 40% speaks French and less than one percent speaks German. Only the Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual (French and Dutch).

The Flemish Region or Flanders occupies the northern part of Belgium. The official language is Dutch. French may be used for certain administrative purposes in a dozen municipalities with language facilities around the Brussels-Capital Region and at the border with Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is centrally located and completely surrounded by the province of Flemish Brabant and thus by the Flemish Region. In the southern part of Belgium, the Walloon Region, the first official language is French, but people also speak German in the German-speaking Community near the German border.

This linguistic diversity often leads to political conflict, linked to other issues (the minority in Wallonia, the foreign policy of the inter-war period, the economic problems Walloon, especially from the years 1960 and so on.), which produced a complex system of governance.

Belgium's political institutions are complex; most political power is organized around the need to represent the main cultural communities. Since around 1970, the significant national Belgian political parties have split into distinct components that mainly represent the political and linguistic interests of these communities.

After the elections in June 2007, it took more than six months to form a new government. Indeed, the various Dutch-speaking and French-speaking political parties did not succeed in reaching an agreement. Most Flemish parties want a new reform of the State and would like more independence. A Flemish extreme right party, "Vlaams Belang" advocates independence for the Flanders region.

During the long period without government, scenarios of separation were often put forward. However, many Belgians affirmed their wish to see the country remain united and many Belgian flags still hung from windows, especially in Wallonia. .

On November 18, more than 35,000 people demonstrated for the unity of Belgium. This event followed a petition which collected more than 140000 signatures. It was noted in this demonstration that few Flemish’s were present compared to Walloons.

Since December 21, Belgium finally has a government. However it is temporary and should be completed on March 23 to make way for a new one, lead by Flemish Christian DemocratYves Leterme, the actual winner of the federal elections of June 2007. But one thing is sure, tensions between the two communities still exist....

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium

New research provides a shed of light for forgetful types

2008-01-30T14:41:00.000Z

Wouldn't it be a relief if we could remember all those little things we always forget, like birthdays, anniversaries, the date of the French Revolution or where we put our keys?

We recently came across this story about an accidental discovery of the brain’s structure. Scientists have discovered that electrodes implanted in the brain have shown signs of improving human memory.

It was the result of a man, originally having brain surgery to reduce his appetite, fully remembering 30 year old happenings in incredible detail.

The results will be further investigated to determine whether these electrodes can help people with diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Maybe this would be a major step towards learning in the future, for the treatment of illness and hope for forgetful types?

Click here to read the full story from The Independent.

Poetry Tutorial - Andrew Marvell

2008-01-18T14:03:00.001Z

Thanks to an anonymous Amazing Grades user in Portugal for submitting this link to our site - an indispensable resource for any student studying Andrew Marvell:

Interactive Poetry Tutorial - To His Coy Mistress

This interactive tutorial offers a step-by-step guide for a close reading of Marvell's 'To His Coy Mistress'. Including a formal close reading that visually identifies elements of the poem and examines the effects of different rhetorical devices, it also features information on the cultural context and some approaches to critical interpretations.

This has everything you need for a comprehensive close-reading of this famous work, and the critical approaches section reaches up to the top end of AS Level standard.

This is heading straight for the English Literature section!

Amazing Learning at BETT 2008

2008-01-14T16:42:00.000Z

First things first - our apologies for lack of updates of late, but the Amazing Grades team (and the rest of Amazing Learning) has been super-busy the last month in the run up to the BETT Show 2008.

Incidentally, it was all worth it - we had a fantastic time at BETT, and we were overwhelmed (though not surprised ;) at the interest in our products. However, our stand was so busy at times that we didn’t always have enough opportunity to talk to everyone in detail about what we offer.

So if you're looking for more info on our learning software and web-based applications for the primary, secondary, further education and adult sectors, visit our website - www.amazing-learning.com - or call us on 0191 245 4444.

For the Amazing Grades team especially, it's always fun to demo our site to new faces - it's great seeing the reaction you get when people see what an exciting and unique idea it is! It really doesn't stop there; we've grown so much in the last year in terms of our product range, so check it out on the Amazing Learning site.

Back soon for some of our best recently added sites.

Recently added to Amazing Grades

2007-12-11T09:50:00.000Z

Here are a couple of most interesting sites our team of teachers have added to the Amazing Grades main site in the last seven days:

Religion, Philosophy & Ethics - Arguments for the existence of God

This short clip explores the notion of design, by using an analogy with a bridge. Arguments 'from' design, and 'to' design are both explored
by considering the different ways a bridge exhibits evidence of design, and how this applies to the question of God's existence.

French - Current Affairs

Le Monde article comparing the 2007 Val-d'Oise riots with 2005 riots.

Music Technology - Planning a Music Recording

Handy hints and tips on preparing for your recording session, from Fandango Recording, Toronto.

To see more sites that our team of teachers have rated and reviewed, register here, or sign up for a free trial and have a closer look around.

The Great Whale Trail

2007-11-27T09:25:00.001Z

The Great Whale Trail is a collaboration between Greenpeace and scientists working on humpback whales in the South Pacific. Humpback whales are now being tracked via satellite as they migrate from breeding areas in the tropical South Pacific to the feeding grounds of the Southern Ocean.

View the Great Whale Trail satellite image

This project will produce important information on the movements and destinations of humpback whales, when they migrate from small, unrecovered populations off Rarotonga (in the Cook Islands) and New Caledonia.

Greenpeace is communicating this important, safe scientific research as part of their campaign against Japan's unnecessary and harmful "research" in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. This year, they plan to kill 50 threatened humpback whales and 50 endangered fin whales :(

Greenpeace is also running a campaign in which you can vote to name the humpback whales currently on the Great Whale Trail. Out of the Amazing Grades team - Dave and Andy have both, quite predictably, gone for 'Mister Splashy Pants' .

It's Enterprise Week

2007-11-12T08:56:00.000Z

This week is Enterprise Week. From 12th to 18th November, it is anticipated that over 3,000 events will take place to stimulate ideas from young entrepreneurs across the UK. Head over to the Enterprise Week site to learn more...
http://www.enterpriseweek.org/

Some of you who read the Financial Times may be aware that the newspaper is running a number of features on Enterprise Week. Head over to the 'in depth' section of their website for daily videos from successful entrepreneurs behind Lastminute.com and the Timpsons chain of shoe repair shops.
http://www.ft.com/indepth/enterpriseweek

Check out the top 3 links from a search of Amazing Grades for 'enterprise'...

Amazing Learning provide a suite of activities including interactive online games, e-learning tools and courses, as well as audio and video content delivered online. Checkout Amazing Learning's promotional short film by viewing the trailer here. You can then sign up to view further information about the enterprise tools.

Even better, if you're based in the North East of England, the Regional Development Agency, One NorthEast have sponsored the programme and packaged it as Enterprise Kebab, so your school or college can get the tools and activities for free!

So whatever you do, have a great Enterprise Week.

Test Your Vocabulary!

2007-11-01T12:47:00.000Z

Here's a useful vocabulary test that could help you improve your writing skills; at the very least you'll learn a few new words :

Daily Writing Tips - Vocabulary Test

For the keen writers among you, this is an excellent blog - subscribe to its RSS feed or regular email updates and you'll sharpen your written communication skills every day! These aren't just useful for English enthusiasts, they provide an insight into into how languages work for any linguist.

Here are a few tips from the last couple of months that we have found especially helpful:

Affect / Effect

Five frequently misused verbs

Learning from poetry

PS - I'll be posting the Amazing Learning crew's results in the comments!

Halloween Fun

2007-10-30T10:16:00.000Z

Halloween, or 'All Hallows Eve' is upon us and the Amazing Grades team thought that it might be fun to share a creative link for a change. The people at origami-club have put together a bunch of Halloween themed origami designs.

The designs range in complexity but all come with extensive diagrams and flash animations making sure you never put a foot wrong...

http://www.origami-club.com/en/halloween/index.htm

For some nifty tips on ghoulish makeup, making a lantern and staying safe whilst trick or treating then visit this fun site in America.

http://www.allhallowseve.com

Also on the site you will find a few scary stories, or even submit your own.

Happy Halloween....

Nature's Great Survivors

2007-10-12T09:30:00.000+01:00

Here's some fascinating information on one of the most resilient forms of life on the planet:

Tardigrades (Known as water bears or moss piglets)

Freeze them, boil them, dry them, expose them to open space & radiation - after 200 years they'll still be alive!

Space: Sputnik's 50th Anniversary

2007-10-02T08:41:00.001+01:00

October 4th 1957 saw planet earth's first successful foray into outer space with the launch of Sputnik 1 by the then Soviet Union.

How important was Sputnik? As with many pioneering efforts there were others capable of launching but Sputnik was the first artificial satellite to orbit our planet. It seems that with Sputnik the space race was started with the United States launching their own satellite, Explorer 1, a little over three months later. Some 4000 launches later by nine different countries and there are an estimated 5000 satellites orbiting our earth.

Sputnik managed 1400 orbits before burning up on its planned re-entry to the earth's atmosphere in January 1958. The oldest satellite still orbiting earth is Vanguard 1, launched by the United States in 1958.

You can read more about Sputnik over at NASA's excellent history pages;
http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/index.html

And for a little more information about other missions to space?
http://www.planetary.org/explore/topics/groups/space_missions/

In the fifty years since Sputnik was launched man has orbited the earth countless times and has travelled as far as our moon. We have launched probes to Mars and beyond and have discovered and photographed stars, planets and moons in our neighbouring solar systems and galaxies.

Sputnik and other artificial satellites shouldn't be confused with NEOs (Near Earth Objects) such as asteroids or satellites. There are 888 potentially hazardous asteroids being tracked. You can view them at: (note - you need java installed to view)
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/orbits/

Space has tested our knowledge of physics and our understanding is constantly being extended. You can test your GCSE Physics knowledge at BBC Bitesize;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/edexcel/space/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/physics/the_earth_and_beyond/

Got any questions? Ask an astrophysicist! http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/ask_an_astronomer.html

Want to know more about the moon?
http://www.nineplanets.org/luna.html

Apparently a UK astronaut will be visiting the Moon soon (sorry for the rhyme).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6993010.stm

As Buzz Lightyear would say, to infinity and beyond...

What Are Genes?

2007-09-26T09:11:00.000+01:00

Here's another great resource for Biology teachers and students which is about to be added to the Amazing Grades main site:

ABPI Schools - Genes and Inheritance

Focussing on genes, inheritance, DNA and cloning, the site features several top quality flash animations - such as this one which allows you to zoom in on a human cell all the way to a single DNA molecule.

The flash animations are an excellent visual learning aid, and teachers can use them on the whiteboard very effectively.

Evolving Ideas

2007-09-18T11:24:00.000+01:00

This is a really useful collection of short videos on the topic of evolution: they cover the story of Darwin, explore evolutionary evidence, examine how natural selection works and why evolution causes controversy with some religious faiths.

Evolving Ideas

The short videos are a great introduction to the topic for biology students at GCSE and A-Level, and useful for teachers to start off a lesson or spark class discussion. They can be viewed in either Quicktime of RealPlayer.

Recently Added Links

2007-09-11T16:13:00.001+01:00

To kick off the new term, The Amazing Grades team are introducing a new feature. We'll show you a few of the top online study resources which have been added by our team of teachers over the last few days:

Religion, Philosophy and Ethics: Philosophy Bites - Short podcasts from interviews of contemporary philosophers.

Physical Education: Gender Issues - Details on gender equalities in sport.

Geography: Geohive - Very useful population data by continent, area and country

Back to school

2007-08-29T09:46:00.000+01:00

Every year I return to school in September with a firm resolution: I will record all the work I have to do in my diary, do it on the first night and keep everything in four lever arch files, completely organised with file dividers and plastic wallets. It generally lasts about two days, but I still go back to school in January confident that this will be the term I stick to it, and am currently gearing myself up for being totally organised on my return next week.

Though it is unlikely you’ll stick to a routine for the whole year, it is probably always a good idea at least attempting to be organised for the beginning of a term and doing a little bit of advanced preparation, especially if you’re new to a school or entering a difficult year, when you’ll have more important things to worry about than where your homework is.

If your school is a subscriber, check out Amazing Grades to learn how you can save yourself a lot of time when you’re researching your homework or doing your revision online once you’re back to school. If they don’t subscribe, tell them they should or take out a personal subscription!

If you’re stuck for ideas on how to organise yourself, these back to school tips are a great place to start – though it’s an American site, most of the points are still useful.

Of course, the build-up to going back to school can be one long shopping jaunt: for books, bags, stationery and uniform. This site has some great environmentally friendly ideas so you can save the planet and save some money when you go back to school.

European Union

2007-08-24T14:25:00.003+01:00

Today we have got a fantastic political blog for you which is about the European Union.

The EU is a supranational union which is made up of 27 member states. It was established as the European Economic Community in 1957 by the Treaty of Rome and has undergone many changes since, most notably in 1992 by the Maastricht Treaty. Since 1957 new accessions have raised the number of member states, and powers have expanded. In 1973 the United Kingdom joined the Community.

If you want to know more about the EU, its institution and bodies as well as its tasks and objectives we would like to recommend the official website of the EU to you.

Create Digital Music

2007-08-22T16:34:00.000+01:00

If you're a music technology student, or interested in digital and electronic music production, it's well worth keeping track of this outstanding digital music news site:

createdigitalmusic.com

This an excellent resource for news and reviews of all the latest hardware and software, as well as tutorials, how-to guides and other insights into the weird and wonderful world of digital music production.

The site takes a blog format and is frequently updated, so it's worth subscribing to its RSS feed. If you're not sure what that is be sure to check our previous post with this hugely popular explanation from commoncraft.

A-Level Results Day

2007-08-16T09:06:00.000+01:00

As I'm sure many of you already know, it's A-Level results day today!!

Ideally, you've all got what you wanted, but it doesn't always work out the way you hoped :/

If not... don't panic, have a look through the UCAS clearing website. If you didn't get the grades you needed for a Uni course, this will help you find one:

www.ucas.com/clearing/

The Guardian also has a really helpful website to search through the clearing listings:

http://guardian.trotmanis.co.uk/search/

If you're just generally not sure about what to do next...check out BBC's One Life webpage all about results day and the different options you have:

www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/onelife/education/18/results_day.shtml

However you got on, and whatever you're doing next, best of luck from the Amazing-Learning crew!

'Battle at Kruger'

2007-08-13T09:23:00.000+01:00

This is an incredible amateur clip that captures a battle between lions and buffalos in Kruger National Park in South Africa

As of today it's had 12.5 million views on YouTube!

What about your recycling scheme?

2007-08-10T15:03:00.001+01:00

Do you remember our blog about the Olympic Games 2012 which are supposed to become the 'Green Games'? Or, have you heard anything about sustainable development?

A lot of eco-friendly campaigns like these are going on all over the world at the moment. So, this blog is for those who are interested in a more sustainable lifestyle and are willing to help improving our environment by doing proper recycling.

We have found a very useful website which is about recycling. Here you can find everything you need to know. It is called the 'recycling guide' and offers a wide range of features. E.g. recycling schemes and recycling activities for pupils.

Ok, the 'recycling guide' is quite theoretical. On the BBC Schools website you can practise recycling by helping Barnaby Bear throwing the waste into the suitable recycle bin.

Try out and improve the world!!!

Careers advice

2007-08-03T15:16:00.000+01:00

A lot of young people struggle to find a job that is suitable. But most of them first decide to work in jobs which they aren't very interested in, just to do anything. And, after a certain time they quit the job to move to a job they like much more.

But isn't it a waste of time.

That's why we think it would be great to provide information on the different job types. In particular for KS4 students who will have to make decisions on their future soon. So, we would like to invite you to explore all the types of jobs and maybe your decision will be less complicated.

Another useful help might be the future careers trend link. Browse this site and get to know what areas of employment will guarantee the best possibilities to step into a great career.

English literature

2007-08-01T12:48:00.000+01:00

In addition to our previous 'squashed writers' blog we would like to give you a short information on English literature and its writers.

If you are interested in English literature please have a look at this brief history of English literature. It includes all the different periods as well as the most famous writers of English literature.

Or, maybe you are keen on dealing with quotations when you write birthday cards, love letters or prepare essays for school. In this case you must visit the 'quotationspage' which offers a huge range of quotations expressed by famous people.

Squashed Writers

2007-07-27T10:08:00.000+01:00

These useful sites have 'squashed' influential literary and philosophical works into more manageable chunks; it's a pretty good effort:

The Squashed Writers pages have condensed 'all the books you think you ought to have read' - a bold claim, but it does feature a long list of classic texts. A useful reference for those interested in filling gaps in their literary knowledge, but no substitute for reading the whole book of course!

Perhaps more useful, especially for those studying philosophy, is the Squashed Philosophers section. This contains abridged versions of the most influential Western philosophers, but still in their own words; from Plato and Aristotle to Sartre and Nietzsche.

Top 5 - Holiday places

2007-07-25T15:31:00.001+01:00

Do you already know what you are going to do during your holidays? Travel abroad? Stay at home? Sightseeing?

If not, it is time for a blog that provides a handful hotlinks of places where you will definitely have lot of fun during your holidays. Visit the websites and get inspired by the offered leisure-time activities.

Top 5

Disneyland Resort Paris

Legoland Windsor

Camelot Theme Park

Sandcastle Waterpark

National Space Centre

Enterprise Movie

2007-07-23T14:46:00.000+01:00

Amazing Learning recently released a short movie to promote enterprising behaviour in schools. It tells the tale of a young girl using her wits and enterprise smarts to take on the bullies at their own game...conkers!

You can view the trailer and the movie here:

www.theconkerers-movie.com

The moral of the story? Not everyone is an entrepreneur, but you could be. Everyone can be enterprising; some people just need some help. Being enterprising can mean taking risks but it can also mean finding a way around, or through problems. Being an entrepreneur can be a life choice, but you can be enterprising in any walk of life...

Some inspiration from successful entrepreneurs...

"We thought, why don't we get together and do something fun and be our own bosses and since we liked to eat we should do something with food."

Jerry Greenfiel, Co-Founder, Ben & Jerry's Icecream

"I wanted to be an editor or a journalist, I wasn't really interested in being an entrepreneur, but I soon found I had to become an entrepreneur in order to keep my magazine going."

Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Enterprises

Olympics

2007-07-19T12:54:00.001+01:00

Today, we would like to introduce the Olympic Games to you. The next Olympics will take place in Beijing in 2008. But, do you know that the 2012 Olympic Games will be held in London? And, that they are supposed to become the most sustainable Olympic Games ever?

Click here and have a look on the official website of the Olympic Movement

or get to know here why the Olympics of London are also called 'Green Games'.

Learning skills

2007-07-13T14:27:00.001+01:00

Time management

Does it seem like there's never enough time in the day to get everything done? Feel like you're always running late? Here are some websites with tips for taking control of your time and organizing your life.

Managing your time

Time management principles

Tips on how to organise your time

Time management matrix from "First things first" by Steven R. Covey

Labels: a-level, gcse, exams

Global warming

2007-07-11T14:20:00.001+01:00

During the last years global warming discussions have increased. Therefore campaigns against global warming like the Live Earth Concert have been set up and even world politics have been influenced by this topic.

So, according to the Amazing Grades' weekly poll which is about climate change, here you are offered some sites to deepen your global warming understanding.

Facts on global warming

One Planet Campaign by WWF

Global warming in pictures

Tips on how to fight global warming

Labels: geography, world, citizenship

History

2007-07-10T14:01:00.000+01:00

Interested in history or just doing research for school?

Check out these websites and find interesting stuff about historical eras as well as topics of recent history. Furthermore you get inspired by quizzes and audio sources.

Enjoy them...

All facts and dates on UK as well as on European history

History of the 20th century

Interactive quizzes

Audio comments on historical topics

Labels: GCSE, classics, exams, revision

Bibliography Help

2007-07-06T15:10:00.000+01:00

Here's a nice little resource to help with those annoying bibliographies at the end of your essay:

www.citationcreation.com

Thanks to Lauren, one of our users in New South Wales, Australia for this one!

Visuwords - Online visual dictionary

2007-06-29T11:30:00.000+01:00

Here's a superb online dictionary, great as a thesaurus too. This really looks great and it's especially useful for visual learners who like using learning tools like mindmaps:

www.visuwords.com/

Once you've used Visuwords, there's no turning back!

English as a foreign language

2007-06-25T12:35:00.000+01:00

Do you know how many people in the world speak English?

Imagine, more than 400 million (400,000,000) people speak English as their first language. Another 1.1 billion (1,100,000,000) people are able to speak English as a second or third language for their professional and personal lives. How do you feel about that?

We would like to provide helpful websites to people that are non-native speakers:

http://babelfish.altavista.com
Babel Fish is a translation software which offers a huge variety of languages translating into English. It is possible to compile whole websites as well.

http://www.englishclub.com
The English Club site helps people learning English or teaching English as a second language. You find a lot of things which are very useful to improve your English language skills including forums, games, quizzes, chat, help and penpals.

http://www.uk.toefl.eu/toefl-sites/toefl-default/
The TOEFL test measures the ability of non-native speakers of English to use and understand English as it is spoken, written and heard in academic settings. It is an internationally accepted measure of academic English proficiency. Get to know of what the TOEFL test is about.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/index.shtml
The BBC Learning English homepage, with audio and video links. Improve your English with listening and reading exercises and quizzes, and communicate with other English speakers and learners through message boards and discussion groups.

http://www.lclark.edu/%7Ekrauss/toppicks/listening.html
Improve your interactive listening skills with these exercises.

http://www.tolearnenglish.com/placement-test.php
Link to two placement tests: the first is a gap-fill grammar exercise; the second is a multiple-choice comprehension exercise.

http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/
You think your English is very good. Have a look at this dictionary of English slang and colloquialisms used in the United Kingdom. It might be very helpful...

Interactive maths dictionary

2007-06-20T10:10:00.000+01:00

This looks like an excellent reference for maths students at A-Level and above:

www.mathwords.com

It has an extensive index of mathematical words,terms, formulas, pictures, diagrams, tables, and examples. Great for reference or revision.

Revision Round-Up

2007-06-18T10:13:00.000+01:00

Another handful of revision websites for the some of this week's maths and science exams; all from the Amazing Grades main site:

Maths - GCSE tutorials and revision.

Physics - GCSE revision lessons from the London Grid for Learning site.

Biology - Detailed revision notes and multiple choice quizzes covering most of the GCSE syllabus.

Psychology - A range of multiple choice tests, crosswords and hangman games, ideal for A-Level revision.

Best of luck!

Revision Round-Up

2007-06-08T11:19:00.000+01:00

The Amazing Grades team knows that there are still plenty of you with exams left; so here's a sprinkling of revision websites for some of the outstanding exams:

Maths - excellent A-Level revision section from MathsNet, with past papers and practical exam tips.

English Language - Sample materials of high quality GCSE answers, with examiner's commentary.

Psychology- Multiple choice practice questions to test your understanding of the area of cognitive psychology at A-Level.

Classics - Useful site on History and Culture in Ancient Greece, good info for the Greek Tragedy and Archaeology papers on the 15th June.

Enough for now...expect another round-up early next week.

ps - The AG Blog has a new team member; Amazing Learning's number one educational specialist - Kev. Welcome aboard!

Google Image Labeler

2007-06-01T16:27:00.000+01:00

Want to play a fun game and help improve one of Google's growing suite of applications? Yay!....... Who wouldn't?!

Image Labeler

You'll be randomly paired with a partner who's online and using the feature. Over a two-minute period, you and your partner will be shown the same set of images and asked to provide as many labels as possible to describe each image you see. When your label matches your partner's label, you'll earn points depending on how specific your label is. You'll be shown more images until time runs out.

This is actually quite fun as well as being a good test of concentration and speedy thinking - thanks to Dave for this one ;)

Earth Guide

2007-05-30T09:53:00.000+01:00

This is a site with some superb flash animations based on eight key questions which allow you to explore the Earth's astronomy and physical geography. The scope of the questions can seem pretty wide, such as "Where does the sky become space?", "How big are the oceans of the world?", but it also gives advanced explanations of specifics, such as the hydrological and carbon cycles:

Earth Guide

Some of the content is pretty advanced, but it's still well worth a look around as the animations allow you visualise some extremely large-scaled concepts. Great for physics and geography students.

Fighting Exploitation in Tourism

2007-05-23T12:17:00.000+01:00

Here's a a great site for Travel & Tourism / Leisure students, recently added to the main site by our Travel & Tourism specialist:

Tourism Concern

The site explores the less glamorous side of tourism looking at around the world "trouble spots", campaigns for ethical travel and information for tourists. It examines in detail the environmental impact of tourism on the world and its people -information that can be used for debates in class.

The site is also useful for other topics, such as geography and citizenship.

Flashcards for Biology Revision

2007-05-18T09:52:00.000+01:00

Some very useful revision notes for A-Level Biology revision, you can print them off and take them around with you:

St Martin’s Biology » Flashcards for Revision

Big Spanish Castle

2007-05-14T10:05:00.000+01:00

Good morning bloggers!

While we wait for this morning's top 5 links from last week, check out this optical illusion:

Big Spanish Castle

Pretty neat. Check out these revision notes on the eye to see how it works.

BBC NEWS Secrets of exam success revealed

2007-05-14T10:01:00.000+01:00

More revision tips - this time form the Beeb:

BBC NEWS | Education | Secrets of exam success revealed

Why do I always fall apart in exams?

2007-05-11T09:26:00.000+01:00

Some timely exam tips from yesterday's Education Guardian

Why do I always fall apart in exams? | News crumb | EducationGuardian.co.uk

The Monster Engine

2007-05-03T11:30:00.000+01:00

Ever wonder what would happen if you took a kid's drawing and then got an artist to finish it?

Perhaps something a little bit like this...

Check more monsters out here:

The Monster Engine

via Amazing Filtered Things

Climate Challenge

2007-05-03T10:26:00.000+01:00

Most schools in England should have received their resource pack that helps teachers and pupils explore and understand the issues surrounding climate change by now.

The pack includes the Al Gore film "An Inconvenient Truth" and a number of other resources and is accompanied by online teaching guidance showing how to use the resources in the pack in science, geography and citizenship lessons.

Climate Challenge

What can you do to help?

Here's a useful site that lets you know what you can do in your everyday life to tackle climate change:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/greenerliving

Teaching resources

Guidance for teachers can be found here:

http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/sustainableschools/yearofaction

RSS Feeds

2007-05-02T10:00:00.000+01:00

This is a quick and simple video tutorial which explains clearly what an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed does:

Click To Play

There are two types of Internet users, those that use RSS and those that don't. This video is for the people who could save time using RSS, but don't know where to start.

Give this video three and a half minutes and we can guarantee that your online experience will be changed forever! Hooray for exciting web technology without alienating tech speak!

Chinese maths puzzle

2007-05-01T12:34:00.000+01:00

Last week, the Royal Society of Chemistry offered a £500 reward for answering a maths problem which is part of a Chinese university entry test.

The Royal Society of Chemistry set the problem to show the gap between what is expected of undergraduates in the UK and those youngsters seeking to enter university in China.

Almost 1 million people looked at the puzzle on the BBC News website. Here it it:

...and here's the solution!

BBC NEWS | Education | Chinese maths puzzle solutions

Media Studies Resources

2007-04-26T10:14:00.000+01:00

Here's what appears to be a very comprehensive media studies site that covers GCSE, A Level and BTEC:

Welcome to Mediaedu.co.uk

Nice to see a fellow educationalist embracing the power of Youtube too. Check out their clip archive here:

http://youtube.com/mediaedu

Top marks, mediaedu! Go straight to the top of the class!

Here's an idea - perhaps we should have an educational site of the week and also an award for the "site that could do better". We could call it the "Daily Dunce". :)

D-E-F-I-N-I-T-E-L-Y

2007-04-25T15:23:00.000+01:00

This:

D-E-F-I-N-I-T-E-L-Y

...is the correct spelling of definitely. :)

Vocational A-levels - Virtual Common Room

2007-04-25T14:21:00.000+01:00

This is a really useful section from the vocationallearning.org.uk website, with lots of information about vocational A-Levels. You can take a virtual tour of a sixth form common room to discover all you need to know about vocational A-Levels in subjects such as applied science, travel, leisure, engineering and social care:

Virtual Common Room

Features good detail on what each course is about, which qualifications you need for it, and info on the type of courses and careers that you could do afterwards.

Don't forget to have a look at the vocational subjects we have on the Amazing Grades main site, such as Social Care and Business Finance. We also have three separate engineering topics, hairdressing and beauty therapy currently under way as well.

How to Use English Punctuation Correctly

2007-04-23T10:00:00.000+01:00

Remember our classic post on 'Common errors in English'? Lots of people of all ages have found it an incredibly useful reference. Well here's an article from the Wikihow site which details the correct use of English punctuation.

How to Use English Punctuation Correctly - WikiHow

Ok, so it's not exactly bedtime reading but, again, it's an excellent reference which could significantly improve your writing and improve your mark in English language and literature exams.

Black Cloud

2007-04-20T10:09:00.000+01:00

Oh dear, looks like the Amazing Grades team has been on holiday over Easter too. We'll make it up to you next week with our new series of revision posts.

Back to the news. Check this out:

The text on the balloon says "Drive one day less and look how much carbon monoxide you'll keep out of the air we breathe."

It's to raise awareness about pollution and is brought to you by 20to20.org which is a great place to practice your Mandarin!

English version of the site here.

National Vegetarian Week 21st-27th May

2007-04-12T13:13:00.000+01:00

Apologies there's not been a post since last week, the blog's had a touch of bank holiday hangover. Here's a site with a variety of useful sections for teachers and students:

The Vegetarian Society

The Vegetarian Society is an educational charity promoting understanding and respect for vegetarian lifestyles. With National Vegetarian Week approaching next month (21st - 27th May)it's an ideal time to explore the topics of nutrition, healthy eating, and respect for people’s differences.

The site features a page with plenty of ideas for schools to get involved, as well as useful lesson ideas for teachers.

For those studying Food Technology, it's also got an excellent page of factual information on food and nutrition.

What's more, schools can order a National Vegetarian Week pack for free; with Quick Lesson Ideas, posters, and a recipe booklet on veggie catering for schools and colleges.

Geography Flash Animations

2007-04-05T10:17:00.000+01:00

Here's a couple of nice flash animations to help you with your geography revision over the easter period.

The first is on river flooding and features a series of interactive quizzes to test your knowledge - head straight for the odd one out picture quiz:

River Flooding

Next, here's a great looking animation that allows you to examine tectonic plates, rifts and fault lines on a global scale; as well as illustrating various causes of earthquakes:

What Causes Earthquakes?

You'll need Flash player if you haven't got it!

Buddhist Art and Ritual - Mandala Construction

2007-04-04T12:35:00.000+01:00

Check these amazing sand paintings out:

Buddhist Art and Ritual | Mandala Construction

A sand mandala symbolises the transitory nature of things in Buddhism - once it has been built and its accompanying ceremonies and viewing are finished, it is systematically destroyed:

More: Exploring the Mandala

How to Make Pesto

2007-04-03T11:50:00.000+01:00

If you've ever tasted pesto in Italy you know that the pesto in a jar just isn't the same. This recipe results from a lesson in making pesto from a real Italian Grandma™.

Turns out that...

chopping all the ingredients by hand and not blending them is key because this prevents the ingredients from becoming a completely homogenized emulsion or paste.

Recipe: How to Make Pesto

Not only an interesting article if you're studying food technology, but also useful for when you go off to University!

EDIT: There's even a World Pesto Championship, but I can't find out who won it. If you can, post a comment!

Churchill's 'Iron Curtain' speech explored

2007-04-02T17:19:00.000+01:00

Fantastic opportunity for history students here - this site has got the Amazing Grades team very excited.

Churchill Speech Interactive

OK, so it seems a little bit confusing at first but that's because there is so much information. As you listen to the speech, a timeline scrolls across which features links to information on a range of relevant topics as Sir Winston mentions them in the speech! Topics include looking at the Soviet Union, the consequences of the atom bomb, and examining Churchill's skills as an orator. You'll need flash player.

This site has to be seen to be believed...it's great to be able to concentrate on a primary resource with such helpful supporting detail. Surely this is April's website of the month already!?

How to get from California to Stockholm

2007-03-29T10:05:00.000+01:00

Google maps is a pretty good way of getting around, finding places and getting directions. It's even good for International travellers, and can direct you across countries and even continents!

I'm not too sure about the number of people who could cope with instruction 33 though!

Full directions from CA to SWE

That's 3462 miles, if anyone ever asks you how big the Atlantic is... :)

Kinoeye - New Media Blog

2007-03-27T11:12:00.000+01:00

This is a very informative, regularly updated blog from the University of Warwick which has features on a variety of 'new media' subjects.

Kinoeye, University of Warwick

This blog has its finger on the pulse; with links to podcasts and 'filmcast' movie reviews, as well as particularly useful glossaries on media buzzwords and technological terms. It's particularly useful for students who do A-Level Media Studies and Film Studies.

We hope to be adding linking to the very best educational blogs in the blogosphere over the coming months... if you have any recommendations then post them in the comments!

Most popular subjects

2007-03-26T10:02:00.000+01:00

Microwave plan for colossal squid

2007-03-22T14:20:00.000Z

The Amazing Grades blog is now a hotbed for colossal and giant squid information (according to last weeks stats, there's a whole bunch of people who searched Google for squid and landed here!). You know that colossal squid that they caught last week? Well, it turns out scientists will need a giant microwave oven to defrost it before it has a chance to rot.

Read more about scientists' Microwave plan for colossal squid by clicking on the link!

More facts on Giant and Colossal Squid here.

Greek Gods Family Tree

2007-03-22T12:01:00.000Z

Is Nyx really mother of them all? Who was Persephone's dad?

Answers to this and many other questions can be found here, at:

ludios.org - Science > Greek Gods > Tree

There's also a description and a PowerPoint version.

George Orwell’s 5 Rules for Effective Writing

2007-03-22T09:46:00.000Z

Morning bloggers!

If you want to be understood, if you want your ideas to spread, using effective language must be your top priority.

Here are some useful tips from George Orwell:

George Orwell’s 5 Rules for Effective Writing

For further reading, take time to check out Orwell’s original essay.

Breathalyser tests for teachers

2007-03-20T13:34:00.000Z

A Bulgarian school is reporting an improvement in student grades after introducing a breathalyser test for teachers. The headmaster of Hristo Botev school in Vratsa brought in the tests for all teachers after students complained they were turning up smelling of beer and the local home-made spirit rakia. Headmaster Victor Krastev said: "At first the teachers thought I was joking but they soon got used to the test, and it works perfectly – now they are all as sober as babies and we have seen a 15% improvement in grades."

He said he planned to pass on his experiences to other headmasters who claim they have the same problems with staff.

Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night - GCSE revision

2007-03-20T11:36:00.000Z

Here’s a very handy site for everyone studying Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night:

http://www.twelfthnightsite.co.uk

There isn’t a lot of high-level criticis, so it’s more useful to for GCSE level students to test their understanding of the play’s plot and key characters. The most useful aspect of the site is the large selection of quizzes and games to test you’re knowledge.

All in all a good site for GCSE revision.

This week's top 5 links

2007-03-14T08:11:00.000Z

Good morning!

Here are this week's top five links:

	GCSE ICT Revision En garde! Great interactive game for GCSE ICT revision. Category: ICT
	DSA Online Mock Theory Tests The Driving Standards Agency, where you can complete mock theory tests to help prepare yourself. Category: I'm bored now!, Driving School, Theory Test
	Security and Cybercrime Analysis of the findings of the EC's Communication on Computer-Related Crime. Category: ICT, ICT and Society, ICT & the Law
	Respiration Excellent site for independent learning and revision. Simple, clear tutorial with excellent diagrams. Sample questions in exam format with model answers. Revision summary including glossary of key terms. Category: Biology, Respiration and photosynthesis, Respiration
	MathsNet Student Advice Page Hints and tips that you probably didn't write down when your teacher explained them to you months ago! Advice on how examiners mark papers, general advice, 'examiner-speak' and 'How to avoid scoring no marks for a question'. Also, more specific information about modules P1/P2/P3/S1/S2/M1 is offered. Category: Maths, Exams, Preparing for exams

Popular Searches

This week, students have been searching for:

Lord of the Flies, exploitation, acid rain, genetics, euro, hunting, China, Revolution, solubility, Milton, versailles.

Subjects covered by Amazing Grades

2007-03-13T14:44:00.000Z

Here is a list of all of the subjects on Amazing Grades:

Beauty Therapy
Biology
Business Administration, HR, Marketing & Management
Business Finance
Business Law
Business Studies
Chemistry
Children's Care, Learning & Development
Citizenship
Classics
Design and Technology
EAL
Economics
Electronic Engineering
English Language
English Literature
Film Studies
French
Geography
German
Government and Politics
Hairdressing
Health Studies
History
History of Art
ICT
Italian
Law
Maths
Mechanical / Aerospace Engineering
Media Studies
Modern Studies
Motor Vehicle Engineering
Music
Music Technology
Physical Education
Physics
Psychology
Religion, Philosophy and Ethics
Russian
Social Care
Sociology
Spanish
Theatre Studies
Travel & Tourism

Ants Test Nonviolence of Buddhist Monks

2007-03-13T09:46:00.000Z

I'm sorry, but it appears that Monday's usual Top 5 post has been eaten by the dog, or left on the bus.

Here's an interesting story from Tibet, which will teach you something interesting about Buddhism too:

Ants Test Nonviolence of Buddhist Monks

Any suggestions for dealing with ants in a nonviolent way?

Revision Tips: Part 1

2007-03-09T11:46:00.000Z

Exams.

There's no getting away from them.

If you want to do well this year, then you need to start thinking about your revision now.

But don't panic! Amazing Grades is here to help you in your time of need.

We've been out on the streets and asked last year's Year 13 students for their Top Tips for Revision Success™

Amazing Grades: Hey Helen, how about some revision tips for students who are taking their exams this year?

Helen: One would be don't distract yourself by writing an unrealistic timetable up and then spending all your time redesigning it each time you realise you are behind! Obviously, a timetable is a good thing.

Amazing Grades: Do you always make a timetable?

Helen:Yes, but be careful, because its tempting to put you're gonna do loads when realistically, you'll never do it. Make sure it's realistic to start with.

Amazing Grades: So do you just revise, revise, revise?

Helen: No! Don't stop yourself from doing the things you enjoy most because you do need breaks and if you don't go you won't concentrate anyway. Like no matter what, I always go to karate cause I enjoy it and you can't stress when you're there. But do be prepared to cut down on some things just 'til the exams are over.

Amazing Grades: Cool.

Helen: I have to say my best advice is the same I got told over and over again, which is to start early, do little bits and keep going back to stuff.

Helen: Oooh and just 1 more which I'm sure you've got cause everyone says it, but don't judge by what others say they've done, cause everyone says they haven't done any revision even if they have.

Amazing Grades: Perhaps it would be a good idea to switch off MSN too?

Helen: I get easily distracted, so yeah, that's probably very good advice too!

Amazing Grades: Thanks Helen!

In case you're wondering, Helen got AAB in her A2s and is now studying Psychology at Sheffield University. Nice one Helen!

More top tips next week. Have a great weekend!

The Romans

2007-03-07T16:01:00.000Z

The Amazing Grades crew have been eagerly anticipating this website for some time now; finally it's here and it does not disappoint:

Antony Kamm's 'The Romans'

Based on the authoritative book The Romans: An Introduction, it's packed with nearly 70 pages of information, supported with insightful illustrations and images. The site also features 47 interactive quizzes to test your knowledge along the way - masses of information here!

Lunar Eclipse

2007-03-05T10:04:00.000Z

See the eclipse on Saturday and not sure why or how it happened? Who better to explain than everyone's favourite astronomer Sir Patrick Moore:

BBC News Player - Sir Patrick Moore on eclipse

Free Maths Revision Cards!

2007-03-02T10:38:00.000Z

On this site you can order free credit-card sized Maths GCSE Formulae Cards and/or Pure Maths A-level Formulae Cards.

Order your Maths Card today!

Winner of a 2005 'Heist' Gold Marketing Award, these handy sized cards contain most of the formulae relevant to both the Maths GCSE syllabus and the Pure Maths A-level syllabus.

Splat Stalin's Henchmen!

2007-03-01T15:00:00.000Z

Ok, this may seem a little crazy but it's actually a really useful way to test your knowledge of Stalin's henchmen. The idea behind the game is that you splat the figures who Stalin executed, but leave those that he didn't.

SPLAT! - ActiveHistory Quiz

I'd recommend spending a couple of minutes familiarising yourself with the historical figures involved before you start splatting. It does require pretty detailed knowledge to do well, but it's definitely useful for A-Level students. The game even comes with a handy revision worksheet!

Most interesting (not past papers) top 5 links...

2007-02-27T09:13:00.000Z

Since yesterday's top five happened to consist entirely of past papers sites.... here's a top five other sites!

: TV5 Monde: enseignants
TV clips with exercises covering a range of abilities. Kept well up to date.
Category: French, News, News
: DSA Online Mock Theory Tests
The Driving Standards Agency, where you can complete mock theory tests to help prepare yourself.
Category: I'm bored now!, Driving School, Theory Test
: Security and Cybercrime
Analysis of the findings of the EC's Communication on Computer-Related Crime.
Category: ICT, ICT and Society, ICT & the Law
: Respiration
Excellent site for independent learning and revision. Simple, clear tutorial with excellent diagrams. Sample questions in exam format with model answers. Revision summary including glossary of key terms.
Category: Biology, Respiration and photosynthesis, Respiration
: MathsNet Student Advice Page
Hints and tips that you probably didn't write down when your teacher explained them to you months ago! Advice on how examiners mark papers, general advice, 'examiner-speak' and 'How to avoid scoring no marks for a question'. Also, more specific information about modules P1/P2/P3/S1/S2/M1 is offered.
Category: Maths, Exams, Preparing for exams

Interactive Poetry Exploration

2007-02-23T10:08:00.001Z

This is a nice interactive poetry exercise I've just stumbled across, it gives you some really useful tips on close reading a poem. Using an interactive magnifying glass, it takes you through an example poem, allowing you to 'zoom in' on individual words and phrases.

Under The Magnifying Glass

Spending ten minutes or so going through this guide is really worth it. It should improve your ability to interpret a poem independently, something that the examiners will be looking for.

Giant Squid and Colossal Squid Fact Sheet

2007-02-22T12:55:00.000Z

Writing an assignment about Giant Squid?

Get your facts straight with this definitive Fact Sheet on Giant Squid and Colossal Squid

Before you ask, "squid" is a search term that has been used on Amazing Grades before.

Now, where's my icon for squid...

Podcasting competition!

2007-02-21T13:49:00.000Z

We're about to run a podcast competition, and I need somewhere to put all of the resources, so check back here in a couple of days and the world (of audio revision guides) will be your proverbial (audio) oyster.

Bright idea? Australia pulls plug on light bulbs

2007-02-20T14:56:00.000Z

Today's environmental news story of the day...

Australia pulls plug on light bulbs

Let's see how long it takes for our dear old British government to follow suit. Who said politics doesn't matter? Go straight to the back of the class!

The Amazing Learning Blog

A' Level Results Day

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Writers of the Year Competition 2008

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'The Conkerers' movie wins three Royal Television Socitety Awards

Strength through unity?

New research provides a shed of light for forgetful types

Poetry Tutorial - Andrew Marvell

Amazing Learning at BETT 2008

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What Are Genes?

Evolving Ideas

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What about your recycling scheme?

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Visuwords - Online visual dictionary

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Google Image Labeler

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Big Spanish Castle

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Why do I always fall apart in exams?

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The Monster Engine

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What can you do to help?

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Chinese maths puzzle

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Media Studies Resources

D-E-F-I-N-I-T-E-L-Y

Vocational A-levels - Virtual Common Room

How to Use English Punctuation Correctly

Black Cloud

National Vegetarian Week 21st-27th May

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Churchill's 'Iron Curtain' speech explored